Method and machine for binding packages with wire



Jan. 10, 1939. E HOFFMA 2,143,316

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR BINDING PACKAGES WITH WIRE Filed Nov. 22, 1937 zis then operated. There are thus two distinct Patented 1.... 10, 1939 METHOD AND momma ron' nnmnve I PACKAGES wrrn wmn Emil Hoffmann, Cologne-Marienburg, Germany Application 7 In 4 Claims.

driven by a hand lever. Hitherto one end of the wire is clamped in a clamp on one side of the twisting wheel and the other end part of the loop or that portion of wire which-extends from the other side to the supply reel is clamped in a tensioning device operated by another .handlever. The clamped wire after being passed round the package to form a loop is first tensioned, namely, is drawn tightly round the package by operation of the tensioning device. The twisting wheel operations, each effected by a separate operating lever. Two distinct operations by the operator are thus required.

In order to simplify the operation and the apparatus used, to reduce the time occupied and to improve the fastening, according to the invention the'tensioning and the twisting operations are effected simultaneously, the operating mechanism of the tensioning device and that ,of the twisting wheel being mechanically coupled in such a way that by a single operation, .for instance of a single operating lever, the tensioning and twisting are effected simultaneously.

Thus once the wire is set in position it is only necessary to manipulate one lever, with a single movement, to carry out'the whole process of binding including tensioning and twisting.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure l is a plan of one form of apparatu according to the invention, Figure 2 being a side view. Figure 3 is a front view of the right hand tensioning clamp.

Figure 4 shows a completed joint formed by twisting the two overlapping parts of the wire 5 together.

In the example of the apparatus illustrated in the drawing. two levers-2 are pivotally mounted on studs i, on a; frame 521?. ITheL lefthand-lever flcarries a clamp for the-wirecomprising an cecentric 3- free to pivot ona pin 23 in a recess 21 in the end of the lever 2. The eccentricshas oscillate on a bolt 25 carried by the end of the November 22, 1937, Serial No. 175,907 Germany November 26, 1936 lever 2. The eccentric is serrated at 20 adjacent to the opposing surface of the lever' 2, towards which it is normally pressed by a spring-26 which is coiled about the bolt 25 and bears on a pin 21 projecting from the back of the eccentric. 5 The eccentric. has a finger piece I B by which the operator can swing the eccentric to the right about its pivot bolt 25. The lower edge 2-0 of the finger piece 18 is curved to form a guiding edge for the wire. The adjacent part 28 of the lever 2 is also rounded for ,the same purpose. The clamp or eccentric 4 is set vertically but inclined at an angle of about 30 to the transverse axis of. a twisting wheel 5 through which the wire is passed as hereinafter explained. The

twisting wheel 5 is of the known type, namely, a pinion having a slot for the reception of the over-lapping parts of the wire to be twisted. It is rotated by the oscillation of a ever 8 which is fixed to a shaft Ia carrying toothed wheels l, I, meshing with toothedwheels 21' fixed to a shaft 29 carrying a wheel 6 meshing with the pinion or twisting, wheel 5. v i The lever 8, when moved in'either direction,

will cause the twisting wheel 5 to be rotated.

The shaft Ia also carries two cams 9 for ,en- 'gagement with rollers ill on' the levers 2. The levers 2 are normally drawn inwards by a coiled .spring ii connected at itsends to them. I1 is a knob or handle by which the operator can hold 30 the'machine firmly on the package by his left hand, his right hand being free to grasp and operate the single operating lever 8. i2 is a wire cutter which is pivotally mounted on studs 30 on the frame 2| of the machine. A spring 3| is coiled about the studs 30 and has its ends anchored against adjacent parts of the frame 2i. It passes tightly around the front of'the cutter i2 and normally holds the cutter in its inoperative position. 40

A lever i3 is pivotally mounted in a stud 38 on the frame i. It carries a pin ii. .A lever H which is pivotally mounted on a stud l3 on the frame 2i bears on the adjacent end of the lever 13. The lever It has a; lug IS with which the 5 lever 8 engages at the end of an. operative movement. I

i In fuse. the. machine is placed in an appropriate position on thepackage-to-be bound with a wire.

The end of the *Wireis slipped into the recess 24 in the end of, the left hand lever 2 between the wall of the recess and the freely mounted eccentric clamp 3, the latter rotating slightly to, allow it to pass. The wire is then drawn over the bulge ,33 whereupon the eccentric '3 is rotated I slightly in the opposite direction to grip the end of the wire between it; and the adjacent wall of the recess 24.

The wire is then passed through the slotted twisting wheel 5, round the package, again through the slotted wheel 5 and against the curved edge 09 of the finger piece Hi. This causes the eccentric clamp 4 to swing out to the right so that the wire slides over the curved edge 28. The spring 26 then returns the eccentric clamp d so that the wire is gripped between its serrated part 20 and the adjacent part of the right hand lever Z.

Assuming that the lever 8 is in the position indicated in full lines in Figure 2, the operator now presses with his left hand on the knob H to hold the machine steady and grasping the lever B with his right hand moves it over into the position indicated in dot and dash lines in Figure 2. The shaft Ta is thus rotated and effects two operations simultaneously, namely, the cams 9, acting on the rollers l0, push the levers 2 further apart so that the clamps 3 and d tension the wire, whereas the train of gears 7, 21', 6, rotate thetwisting wheel 5 which twists the two overlapping portions of the wire so as to produce a doublehelical joint as indicated in Figure 4.

The lever B in its continued movement engages with the pin 1 IS on the lever i3 and thereby thrusts the lever I3 onto the cutter l2 which is thus depressed to cut off the projecting ends of the twisted wire joint. Whenthe lever 8 is released by the operator, the cutter I2 is raised by the spring 3|. The machine can then be removed from the wired package and be placed on another. On the next operation, the lever 8 is moved from the position indicated in dot anddash lines in Figure 2 to the position indicated in full lines. The wire is tensioned or twisted.

When the operating handle 8 reaches the end of its movement required for the tensioning and twisting operations, it bears on the lug I 6 and its continuedmovement depresses the lever M which depresses the lever l3 so that the cutter i2 cuts off the projecting end of the wire on one side of the joint and the portion of wire which leads from the clamp 4 to the supply reel. The lever B is then released and the machine is removed from the package.

The lever 8 may be adapted for operation only in one direction, it being mounted freely on the shaft 1a and adapted to rotate this by. a one-way clutch or ratchet so that it can be returned to its idle position without rotating the shaft.

Not only does the simultaneous tensioning and twisting of thewire in the manner and by the apparatus described render the-operation simpler and effect a considerable saving in time, but the resulting, twisted joint is more effective. The time occupied is about half that usually reaieasie quired and the twisting is tighter as the convolutions are displaced'longitudinally or compacted during the twisting and are forced firmly against one another.

I claim:

1. In a method of binding a package by means of a wire which consists in passing the wire around the package to form a loop, tensioning the wire and twisting the overlapping portions of the wire together by means of a slotted wheel to form a joint, effecting the tensioning and the twisting of the wire simultaneously in a single operative movement.

.2. An apparatus for binding a package with a wire, of the character referred to, comprising a slotted wheel for the reception of the overlapping parts of the wire, a wire tensioning device, means for operating said wire tensioning device, means for rotating the slotted wheel for the purpose of twisting the wire, said means for operating the tensioning device and said means for rotating the twisting wheel being mechanically coupled, and a single operating lever operatively connected to said mechanically coupled means for operating thetwo simultaneously in one and the same movement of the said operating lever.

3. A machine for binding a package with a wire loop which is united at its ends by a twisted joint, comprising a slotted Wheel for the reception and twisting of the overlapping end parts of the loop, a clamp-on each side of the twisting wheel for gripping said ends, levers carrying said clamps, a spring for drawing said levers towards one another, cams for distending said levers to cause the clamps to tension the wire, gearing for rotating the twisting wheel to twist the wire, a driving shaft for rotating said cams and for driving said gearing, and a single operating lever for partly rotating said shaft for the purpose of initiating the twisting and tensioning of the wire simultaneously in one and the same movement of the said operating lever.

4. A machine as specified in claims 3, having a wire cutter for cutting the ends of the wire loop after the tensioning and twisting have been effected and operated by the single operating lever in the same movement thereof as that which initiates said tensioning and twisting operations simultaneously, said cutter being pivoted to the frame of the machine, a spring for holding said cutter in an inoperative position, and a second lever pivoted on the frame of the machine and adapted to bear on said cutter, said second lever having means for engagement by the aforesaid single operating lever as it completes its operative movement in either direction to tension and twist said wire inone and the same operative 'movement thereof whereby said second lever is depressed to depress said cutter.

EMJL HOFFNIANN. 

